CORVETTE RACING AT ROAD ATLANTA: Up-Front Starts for Championship Pushes

Front-row start in GT Le Mans for Garcia, No. 3 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R

• GTLM Championship leaders Gavin, Milner to start seventh in class
• Chevrolet claims GTLM, Prototype Manufacturer titles with race start
• Cameron leads Corvette DP contingent with third in Prototype for Action Express Racing

BRASELTON, Ga. (Sept. 30, 2016) – Corvette Racing will race for the GT Le Mans (GTLM) class titles in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship from the first and fourth rows following an intensely close qualifying session Friday for Petit Le Mans powered by Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort at Road Atlanta.

Antonio Garcia was second-fastest in GTLM with a lap of 1:18.283 (116.8 mph) in the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R. His time was just 0.152 seconds off the pole-winning time, and the 10 cars in class were within 0.735 seconds.

Tommy Milner set a best lap of 1:18.468 (116.5 mph) in the GTLM championship-leading No. 4 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R to place seventh. He and Oliver Gavin lead the Driver’s Championship – as does the No. 4 Corvette in the Team standings – by 11 points.

At stake in Saturday’s 10-hour race is a sweep of the three GTLM titles. Chevrolet will win its 11^th Manufacturer title in the production-based ranks as long as one of the two Corvette C7.Rs take the start. The Bowtie Brand already is the GTLM class’s most successful manufacturer since 2014 with 11 class victories.

Milner and Oliver Gavin, who will drive with Marcel Fässler, need a seventh-place finish Saturday to secure their second Driver’s Championship together; they won the American Le Mans Series’ GT title in 2012. The trio in the No. 4 Corvette swept the first two races this season at Daytona and Sebring while the Milner/Gavin duo won at Lime Rock and Road America.

Garcia and Jan Magnussen, who will team with Mike Rockenfeller, are in a points race of their own. A runner-up finish Saturday would give them third place in the class with an overall victory at VIR last month to their credit. Garcia and Magnussen also were second at Daytona and Lime Rock to their teammates.

In the Prototype class, Dane Cameron was the fastest Corvette Daytona Prototype driver with a lap of 1:13.903 (123.7 mph) in Action Express Racing’s No. 31 Whelen Engineering/Tem Fox Corvette DP. He and Eric Curran, who are driving this weekend with newly crowned Verizon IndyCar Series champion Simon Pagenaud, lead the Prototype Driver’s standings by one point.

The scenario for a Chevrolet Engine Manufacturer’s Championship in Prototype is the same as in GT Le Mans – one of the four Corvette DPs need only to take the start. It would be the program’s fifth in five seasons. Saturday’s race is the final one for the Corvette DP with new Prototype regulations coming to the series in 2017.

Christian Fittipaldi was fifth-fastest in Prototype qualifying as Action Express’s two Corvette DPs will line up one behind the other on Saturday’s grid. Fittipaldi, who is second with teammate Joao Barbosa in Driver points, set a lap of 1:14.160 (123.3 mph). They are driving with Felipe Albuquerque.

Ryan Dalziel qualified sixth in Prototype for Visit Florida Racing with a lap of 1:14.276 (123.1 mph) in the No. 90 VisitFlorida.com Corvette DP. Ricky Taylor was ninth in Wayne Taylor Racing’s No. 10 Konica Minolta Corvette DP at 1:14.533 (122.6 mph).

The 10-hour Petit Le Mans presented by Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort from Road Atlanta is scheduled for 11:10 a.m. ET on Saturday, Oct. 1 It will air live on FOX Sports 1, FOX Sports 2, FOX Sports Go and IMSA.tv with IMSA Radio coverage and Chevrolet on-board cameras available on IMSA.com.

CORVETTE RACING QUOTES

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SIRIUS-XM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – QUALIFIED SECOND IN GTLM: “It was close to the front, but also very close to being all the way at the back. Basically that is how it is in GTLM. The Corvette behaved how we expected. The track was obviously a lot different that it was this morning (in practice) after several hours between Practice Three and qualifying with all these races in between. I think we did a good job on guessing on what the track would do. The track was definitely slower than this morning but we followed what it would do. I didn't put together a complete lap. I did three almost identical laps; if you take the best part of each lap, I'm sure I could be up front. So it is always good to have the pole position, but we have had a couple this year. We just need to win this one."

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SIRIUS-XM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – QUALIFIED SEVENTH IN GTLM: “It is super close. We have been able to see it all weekend. The lap times were all very close. At first I struggled a bit finding a comfort level in the car; we had it better for this morning. Certainly you can tell that track conditions changed quite a bit because the car this morning was great, but it sounds like for everybody it was a struggle. Good job to all those guys. It certainly wasn't easy out there.

“It’s a little frustrating there to see the timing screen with two fast sectors and a slow one at the end. It wouldn't have been pole but it would have moved us up a little bit. But in any case it is a 10-hour race.

“It’s funny how things ended up there with our main rival in first and us in seventh place. That could be a good thing; it could be bad thing. Who knows? I would be happy with things a way they are right now. I’m happy with how the car felt. So I have a lot of confidence going in to tomorrow’s race.”

CORVETTE DAYTONA PROTOTYPE QUOTES

DANE CAMERON, ACTION EXPRESS RACING NO. 31 WHELEN ENGINEERING/TEAM FOX CORVETTE DP – QUALIFIED THIRD IN PROTOTYPE: "We can be reasonably satisfied today with third. We knew we weren't going to have anything for the outright pace of the LMP2 cars. We weren't to worried about that. We are happy to be the quickest of the Corvette DPs. I think we are quite happy with our car for the race, and what it does in the cool conditions into the night. We know what our strengths are as a team: working traffic and sharing space in pit lane. But I think everything is teed up for tomorrow. I’m looking for a big day for the Whelen Engineering Corvette DP.”

CHRISTIAN FITTIPALDI, ACTION EXPRESS RACING NO. 5 MUSTANG SAMPLING CORVETTE DP – QUALIFIED FIFTH IN PROTOTYPE: "It's okay. Obviously we were aiming to start on the second row as we knew it was impossible to start on the front row, especially with the difference of cars. But all-in-all we are okay. I never got a perfect lap together. When I had a good lap going, I overshot Turn Six. I braked a little bit too deep and went wide on the grass. That cost me a lot of time. Then the laps after that, the tires were shot. All the good on the tires was gone. To be honest with you, I was surprised that I could improve on the last lap. We are confident for tomorrow. That is what really counts. I would be worried if we were starting P5 on a street course where the race is very short and it is almost impossible to pass. We have a long way ahead of us and we have to do our very best tomorrow."

CORVETTE RACING AT ROAD ATLANTA: Racing Toward GTLM Championships

Driver’s, Manufacturer’s and Team titles on the line at 10-hour Petit Le Mans

• Seventh-place points guarantee Driver’s title for Gavin, Milner
• Chevrolet takes Manufacturer’s Title with race start
• Corvette Racing going for ninth Petit Le Mans victory
• Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup championships also at stake

DETROIT (Sept. 27, 2016) – Corvette Racing and Chevrolet can put the wraps on their wire-to-wire championship run this weekend as they close out the 2016 endurance racing season with the final long-distance event of the year – Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta on Saturday.

Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner need seventh-place points or better to secure the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s GTLM Driver’s title, which would be their second championship as Corvette Racing teammates.

Chevrolet also stands to win big this weekend. It will claim its 11^th class Manufacturer Championship as long as one of Corvette Racing’s two Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.Rs start the 10-hour endurance race.

Petit Le Mans presented by Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort is an event in which Corvette Racing has found great success with eight wins in 17 tries. The team tested at Road Atlanta nearly a month ago and collected valuable data for Petit Le Mans. It also helped Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen win overall at VIR in the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R. At Petit Le Mans, they will be joined by Mike Rockenfeller; the duo finished second in class together in the season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona.

That was a race won by Gavin, Milner and Marcel Fässler, as was the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring. The trio are together again in an attempt to win a third race in the Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup – a championship made up of Daytona, Sebring, Watkins Glen and Petit Le Mans. No GTLM entry has won more than two of the four Endurance Cup events in one season.

In addition to leading the GTLM Driver’s Championship, Gavin and Milner lead the class’s Driver standings in the Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup. It is a tight competition though with 11 other drivers – including Garcia, Magnussen and Fässler – within four points.

Chevrolet also is tied for first in Endurance Cup Manufacturer points but holds the tiebreaker advantage.

This is the first race at Road Atlanta for the 2016-spec Corvette C7.R, which is an updated racecar from 2015 due to changes in Automobile Club de l’Ouest regulations for top-level GT cars that compete in the IMSA GTLM class. There are a number of aerodynamic changes including a larger splitter at the front and diffuser at the rear of the Corvette. Side skirts and a repositioned wing also are among the most notable changes, along with updated safety features that are now mandated on all GTLM cars.

Corvette Racing Display Adds to Chevrolet At-Track Experience

Petit Le Mans presented by Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort will feature a strong presence of Chevrolet’s best on and off the track. Fans can see and learn about a number of top-line Chevrolet vehicles and performance accessories at the Corvette Racing Display, located in Road Atlanta’s Vendor Village from Thursday through Saturday, including:

• Exciting 2017 vehicles such as the Corvette Grand Sport, Corvette Z06, Camaro, Equinox, Malibu and Cruze.

• Chevrolet 2016 models including the Silverado 2500 HD Duramax Diesel and Colorado Trail Boss

• A Corvette C7.R show car

• Samples of Chevrolet engines, performance parts and accessories available to fans for purchase from their local Chevrolet dealer

• A variety of Chevrolet and racing related activities for adults and kids

• Commemorative t-shirts for fans who sign up with Corvette Racing.

The Corvette Racing display opens at 10 a.m., Thursday; 9 a.m., Friday; and 8 a.m., Saturday.

The 10-hour Petit Le Mans presented by Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort from Road Atlanta is scheduled for 11:10 a.m. ET on Saturday, Oct. 1 It will air live on FOX Sports 1, FOX Sports 2, FOX Sports Go and IMSA.tv with IMSA Radio coverage and Chevrolet on-board cameras available on IMSA.com.

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SIRIUS-XM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R: “Petit Le Mans is a long race but it can feel longer because of the traffic on a relatively short lap. The weather conditions can be a big factor, as was the case last year. But no matter if it’s a wet or dry race, it’s a challenge and traffic is a big thing. The best thing you can do is have a clean race and stay on the lead lap. You can’t afford to go a lap down there. As long as you stay in the hunt, you can work your strategy in the last part of the race. Petit Le Mans is a race I haven’t won yet so I’m really, really wanting to make that happen this year.”

JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SIRIUS-XM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R: “Road Atlanta is a fantastic, old-school track and one of my favorites. It also was one of the first tracks I raced on when I came to America. Petit Le Mans is relatively new compared to other big races in the U.S., like Sebring or Daytona, but it’s already a classic and one that you want to win. It would be great for us – Antonio, Rocky and myself – to end the season with a good result and keep the momentum from the last two events.”

MIKE ROCKENFELLER, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SIRIUS-XM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R: “I’m excited to rejoin Corvette Racing, and I’m really looking forward to returning to Road Atlanta. It is a very good circuit where personally I have had some of my biggest career moments. The No. 3 Corvette team is on a good stretch at the moment and I can’t wait to get back in the Corvette C7.R again. I have to imagine it’s an absolute beast to drive around Road Atlanta, so I’m anxious to get started.”

OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SIRIUS-XM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R: “As a driver, you dream about coming to a race like Petit Le Mans with a lead in the championship. Tommy, myself and everyone on the No. 4 team know what we have to do. If we have a clean race with no mistakes, we will reach our goal in the championship. It’s never easy to do that at Road Atlanta, though. The nature of the racetrack and the size of the field increase that challenge. I feel we are very prepared for the event on the heels of our test there last month. Everyone at Corvette Racing is feeling very positive heading into Petit Le Mans, so now it’s up to us to execute and do our jobs.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SIRIUS-XM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R: “For us the big challenge is going to be to do all 10 hours. That exists no matter what, but now the pressure is on for sure not to make mistakes. The pressure is on just to have a good race. If we think we can cruise, that is usually when people start making mistakes. We still need to be on our game. We know our competitors will be trying super hard for a win. That’s not to say that we aren’t going to try; I would love to go out and finish the season with a win, especially at Petit Le Mans where I’ve been on the podium now a couple of times but haven’t quite gotten the win there. The Corvette C7.R was good in testing there, so if it’s fast again we are going to go for it.”

MARCEL FASSLER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SIRIUS-XM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R: “I’ve only raced at Road Atlanta a couple of times in my career, but it is a very memorable circuit with lots of elevation change and fast corners. It should be a very good track for the Corvette C7.R. I’m excited about getting back with Oliver and Tommy. My goal is to do what I can to help them win the GTLM Championship and hopefully another race win to closer our season together.”

DOUG FEHAN, CORVETTE RACING PROGRAM MANAGER: “After a full season of racing, our championship comes down to the final event – Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta. This is a tremendous event and one that helped revitalize professional sports car racing in North America in the late 1990s. We have been fortunate to have great success at Petit Le Mans. That comes down to preparation and execution by the drivers, crew and engineers. Those are the same things that have us in a position to claim the Driver’s, Manufacturer’s and Team championships for 2016. We couldn’t think of a better place to do it – in front of another huge Road Atlanta crowd and our Corvette owners and fans in the Corvette Corral.”

PRESS RELEASE:

CORVETTE RACING AT VIR: Overall Victory for Garcia, Magnussen

First class win of season for No. 3 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R

• Winning duo leads 84 laps in GT-only event and solidify third in GTLM points
• Third straight win and fifth of season for Corvette Racing
• Chevrolet increases lead in GTLM Manufacturer Championship
• Gavin, Milner remain first in GTLM Driver Points

ALTON, Va. (Aug. 28, 2016) – Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen won the Michelin GT Challenge at VIR on Sunday, the second overall victory for Corvette Racing in its history and the first for the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R of the season.

It was Win No. 102 for Corvette Racing, which has won five times in the GT Le Mans (GTLM) class this year in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The victory also was the second for the team at Virginia International Raceway.

Garcia and Magnussen combined to lead 84 of the 90 laps including the last two following a late-race caution period. The margin of victory was 0.802 seconds although Garcia’s lead before the yellow flag was a steady 3-4 seconds.

It capped a highly successful weekend for the No. 3 Corvette team. Garcia was quickest in Friday’s practice, and Magnussen claimed pole position. The duo won at VIR together for the first time after placing third in the 2013 American Le Mans Series GT class.

Magnussen set the tone from the outset by leading from pole position. He drove the first 49 minutes – most of the time with a lead of less than a second. Garcia drove a double-stint to close in what he described as qualifying conditions. The final stop with 53 minutes remaining proved to be key as the No. 3 crew performed one of its best fuel and tire stops of the season to solidify Garcia’s lead.

Class championship leaders Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner retained their GTLM points lead despite a ninth-place class finish for the 2012 ALMS GT race-winners at VIR. Gavin set the fastest lap of the race but had an unfortunate crash that brought out the race’s only caution. The incident came moments before reports of fluid down near that area of the track.

Milner qualified second behind Magnussen but fell back at the start in a frantic run through the first corner. He remained steady and moved back up through the field to fifth before a small off-track excursion just past the 40-minute mark. With two races to go, they still unofficially lead the GTLM Driver’s Championship by seven points with two events remaining.

The next event for Corvette Racing is the Lone Star Le Mans on Saturday, Sept. 17 from Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas.

JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R - OVERALL AND GTLM RACE-WINNER: “We were all pretty equal all day in the class. The Corvette Racing team did a great job with the tire pressures. We had a plan where we would be better from the middle of the stint and not so much in the beginning. It wasn’t much fun early on with the tires but as things went on our Corvette got better and better. I’m super happy. It’s our first win in a long time. We have had plenty of opportunities, so I’m really pleased and hopefully this starts a streak for us now!”

WE TALKED EARLIER AND YOU THOUGHT THE FIRST STINT WAS SPECTACULAR, BUT WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT ANTONIO’S STINT? “It was a fantastic drive by Antonio. He kept the gaps and opened them a little bit. I know it got a little scary at the end with one lap to go. It scared the hell out of me. But he did a fantastic drive and always does.”

WINNING FIRST RACE OF 2016: “Oh man! It’s about time! It was a great job by the whole team all week. Green with one lap to go… I don’t know what that was about; it scared the hell out of me. The No. 3 Corvette team has had a tough run this year and it’s great to be back in the Winner’s Circle.”

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R - OVERALL AND GTLM RACE-WINNER: “It was really hot and super close. It was a very difficult, tricky race. The racing line was super narrow; I think that’s why we saw some mistakes at the end. I had a few up and downs in the race. Our pit stops were perfect. After the tire pressures went up and stabilized, the Corvette felt great. I was able to make a little bit of a gap in traffic but it went back and forth. It was just like qualifying except you are trying to save fuel. Luckily I was able to run a good pace and economy with our Chevy engine. I got a really good job on the restart and already had a good gap at the start-finish line. I’m happy for Jan and everyone at Corvette Racing. We have been so close so many times this year that I really think our No. 3 Corvette crew deserved it today.”

YOU HAD TO SAVE FUEL AT TIMES AND THEN YOU SAW THAT FULL COURSE CAUTION AT THE END. FUEL WAS NO LONGER A CONCERN, I THINK IT WAS MORE ABOUT THE CARS BEHIND YOU? “Yeah, it was a very hard race. My team got me a three- to four-second gap and then it was a classic green/white/checkered. Not even green then white, it was like white and checkered. It was an amazing race and the Corvette was brilliant. So I just need to thank the whole Corvette team and Chevy. Corvette Racing did a fantastic job today. It really paid off to be out testing on Monday and Tuesday (at Road Atlanta). I have to say, because the car was fantastic.”

OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FINISHED NINTH IN GTLM: “It’s obviously a disappointing way to end the day. We heard reports that there may have been oil or fluid down near the final turn so maybe that contributed to the incident. The Corvette C7.R is a very strong and well-built car, and we are always thankful for that. It seemed like today we got behind and never could catch up. That is how difficult it is in this championship. We are still thankful to maintain a points lead and will do whatever we can to protect that lead over the final two races.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FINISHED NINTH IN GTLM: “It’s hard to pass and make up ground. I kind of got hung out at Turn One and didn’t have much grip. I had to play some avoidance also with a couple of the cars in there and had some junk on my tires. My first lap free from the pitlane was a case of me going too fast and got loose. The car would understeer behind everyone else, and I didn’t realize how loose it was. It was a mistake on my part."

DOUG FEHAN, CORVETTE RACING PROGRAM MANAGER: “This race today was victorious today on two different levels. Obviously for the Corvette Racing team, Jan and Antonio to bring the No. 3 Corvette home first after battling all day against the best competition of the world speaks very highly of not only the crew work but the engineers that put together a setup that they could race for an entire day in this extreme heat. That should never be overlooked. On another level, I think this is one of the best races we have had since the sports car merger in 2014. The Balance of Performance was very, very tight. You only had to look at the practice times, qualifying or the race times to see that any of the cars that started the race today had the capacity to win. And that’s what makes great racing. So we were all winners today - everyone who participated today in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.”

Press Release:

CORVETTE RACING AT VIR: Magnussen Leads Corvette 1-2 Effort in Qualifying

Milner second as Chevrolet Corvette C7.Rs sweep front row in Virginia

• First overall pole position for Corvette Racing in team history
• Magnussen sets GTLM track record on newly paved racing surface
• Corvette Racing seeking fourth straight win and second at VIR
• Manufacturer, Driver and Team championship leads in GTLM for Chevrolet, Corvette Racing

ALTON, Va. (Aug. 27, 2016) – Jan Magnussen put the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R on pole position Saturday for the  Michelin GT Challenge at VIR, the first overall pole for Corvette Racing in team history. Magnussen set a class record with a lap of 1:41.557 (115.9 mph) in the Corvette he shares with Antonio Garcia to lead the GT Le Mans (GTLM) category and the overall standings on the GT-only weekend at Virginia International Raceway.

Tommy Milner, in the GTLM championship-leading No. 4 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Corvette C7.R, gave Corvette Racing a 1-2 effort in time trials with a lap of 1:41.568 (115.9 mph). It is the first 1-2 qualifying effort for the team since 2012 in the American Le Mans Series.

Saturday also marked Magnussen’s first GTLM pole since 2014 at Long Beach. He and Garcia went on to win the race.

The two Corvette C7.Rs will lead the 21-car to the field for Sunday’s 1:35 p.m. race – the ninth round for GTLM cars in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Corvette Racing is a past winner at VIR with Milner and teammate Oliver Gavin winning in 2012 on their way to the ALMS GT title.

Magnussen and Garcia were third in the 2013 race to clinch the ALMS GT Manufacturer’s Championship for Chevrolet and the Team title for Corvette Racing; the pair went on to win the Driver’s Championship to close the season.

Magnussen also was fastest in Saturday morning’s final practice session, and Garcia was the fastest driver in Friday’s afternoon session. The two Corvettes spent two days testing at Road Atlanta earlier this week and implemented some of the lessons learned there to VIR. It paid off in a major way and could help Corvette Racing to the GTLM championships.

Gavin and Milner lead in GTLM Driver points with four victories this year including the last two races at Lime Rock Park – Corvette Racing’s 100^th all-time win – and a dramatic comeback at Road America. Chevrolet also leads the Manufacturer Championship as does the No. 4 Corvette Racing entry in the Team standings.

Garcia and Magnussen stand third in Driver points with runner-up finishes at Daytona and Lime Rock – both to Gavin and Milner.

The two-hour, 40-minute Michelin GT Challenge at VIR is scheduled for 1:35 p.m. ET on Sunday, Aug. 28. It will air live on FOX Sports 1 starting at 1:30 p.m. ET with IMSA Radio coverage and Chevrolet on-board cameras available on IMSA.com.

JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – GTLM AND OVERALL POLE-WINNER: “I’m so happy. It’s an overall pole so that is even better! The team has done a fantastic job with our Corvette C7.R. It’s so close out there. I knew I needed every single hundredth (of a second) to beat the No. 4 Corvette! It’s a fantastic effort for everyone at Corvette Racing. We really pulled things together after a great test earlier this week and were able to use some of that here. We can’t wait for tomorrow. Hopefully the two Corvettes can have a great race together from the front.”

HAS THE NEW SURFACE CHANGED HOW THE CAR DRIVES SIGNIFICANTLY? “I’ve always been a huge fan of VIR. “It’s a fantastic place to drive; you spend lots of time down through the Esses and the new surface makes it a great experience. I can’t remember when a GT car went around here with this much grip. It feels like a whole different category.”

DOES THE HEAT HELP YOUR CAR? “The tarmac has a lot more grip than last year. We like it a lot. We thought the track would be a lot slower this afternoon but it wasn’t by much if at all.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – QUALIFIED SECOND IN GTLM AND OVERALL: “That’s a great qualifying effort for the team today. Our Corvette is quick, that’s been obvious the last two days. I’m really thrilled to be on the front row with Jan. It’ll be great having two Corvettes at the front heading to Turn One tomorrow.”

DOUG FEHAN, CORVETTE RACING PROGRAM MANAGER: “Pole position is not anything we really try to achieve. We focus more on giving the drivers a car they can use throughout the scope of the entire race. Finishing 1-2 in qualifying is a testament to how hard our engineering team has worked and how well our Corvette really likes this race track. Every time we have shown up here, we have reached a higher level of performance. Here in Virginia, the Corvette really likes the countryside! We’ll take that into tomorrow and see what kind of result it can give us.”

CORVETTE RACING AT VIR: Three Straight and an Overall Victory?

Team to contend for class, overall win on GT-only weekend

• Corvette Racing on two-race win streak with four victories in 2016
• Gavin, Milner lead GT Le Mans Driver’s Championship with three events left
• Garcia, Magnussen third in GTLM points
• Chevrolet out front in GT Le Mans Manufacturer points

DETROIT (Aug. 23, 2016) – Corvette Racing has won 101 races in its impressive history of endurance sports car racing. No. 3 of 101 stands out for a particular reason: the team’s lone overall victory that came in the 2001 Rolex 24 At Daytona.

This weekend, Corvette Racing can add overall win No. 2 and class victory No. 102 at the Michelin GT Challenge at Virginia International Raceway. It’s is the only race this season in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship where the GT Le Mans (GTLM) category is the main class. And like each previous race this season, two Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.Rs are on the entry list – the No. 3 Corvette for Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen and the championship-leading No. 4 Corvette of Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner.

Corvette Racing will look to add a second VIR victory to its résumé. Gavin and Milner won in 2012 – the team’s first race at the circuit – to clinch the American Le Mans Series’ Driver, Manufacturer and Team GT championships. A year later, Garcia and Magnussen finished third to score another Manufacturer title for Chevrolet and Team title for Corvette Racing.

Gavin and Milner come in with as much momentum as any driver pairing has had this season. They have won their last two events: Lime Rock Park for Corvette Racing’s 100^th win and then earlier this month at Road America. Those triumphs are in addition to wins to open the season in the Rolex 24 At Daytona and Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh from Florida.

Strategy, pit work and solid driving has been the name of the game for the No. 4 Corvette team in the last four events. The squad used a great engineering call and a stellar final pit stop to finish fourth at Watkins Glen in June when it had been seventh with an hour left. Gavin and Milner were second at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park the next race before leading a team 1-2 GTLM finish at Lime Rock. At Road America, the No. 4 Corvette went from fifth to first in the final three laps after another round of excellent execution on the crew and engineering sides during the final pit stop.

Garcia and Magnussen have three GTLM podium finishes to their credit this season including runner-up finishes at Daytona and Lime Rock. They also were third at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, where Garcia claimed pole position and the No. 3 car led a majority of the race. By and large, Garcia, Magnussen and the No. 3 team have been the equals of their No. 4 teammates in a number of areas.

This is the first trip to VIR for the 2016-spec Corvette C7.R, which is an updated racecar from 2015 due to changes in Automobile Club de l’Ouest regulations for top-level GT cars that compete in the IMSA GTLM class. There are a number of aerodynamic changes including a larger splitter at the front and diffuser at the rear of the Corvette. Side skirts and a repositioned wing also are among the most notable changes, along with updated safety features that are now mandated on all GTLM cars.

The two-hour, 40-minute Michelin GT Challenge at VIR is scheduled for 1:35 p.m. ET on Sunday, Aug. 28. It will air live on FOX Sports 1 starting at 1:30 p.m. ET with IMSA Radio coverage and Chevrolet on-board cameras available on IMSA.com.

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SIRIUS-XM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R: “The VIR race is unique in that it’s a GT-only race. So an overall win for Jan and I is possible. It would be a great way to rebound on what has been a disappointing season so far for us. Our Corvette has shown good speed over the last three races but there has always been something against us - whether its strategy, track position or whatever else. Yes, it’s frustrating but we know that if everything goes to plan we can run up front and contend for a win this weekend.”

JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SIRIUS-XM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R: “VIR is a super fun track, and should be even more so with the additional downforce we have in our Chevrolet Corvettes this year. I’ve won at VIR before but not in the Corvette. We need a win in the No. 3 C7.R this year. Our team deserves it and it would go a long way to keeping us in third place for the championship.”

OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SIRIUS-XM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R: “We certainly seem to have momentum on our side at the moment on the No. 4 Corvette C7.R team after the great wins at Lime Rock and Road America. Now we are heading to VIR, where Tommy and I won four years ago and won the ALMS GT Driver’s and Team championships as well as the Manufacturer Championship for Chevrolet in the process. With three events left, it is still a very tight points race. We need to keep maximizing our results as we have done over the last four races.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SIRIUS-XM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R: “I have lot of great racing memories at VIR, and it would be great to add another with our fifth win of the season in the No. 4 Chevrolet Corvette. This is a track that is really fun to drive. It’s incredibly fast, it’s flowing and has a couple of really good elevation changes. A GT only race is a nice dynamic for us where we have a chance for an overall win. The most important thing we can do though is score as many points as possible.”

DOUG FEHAN, CORVETTE RACING PROGRAM MANAGER: “We’ve not raced at VIR as often as some other tracks on the schedule, but this is a circuit that offers a little bit of everything to competitors and fans alike. It’s a beautiful setting but there is a degree of risk for the drivers in a lot of areas. We have had success at VIR with the Corvette and clinched a couple of championships there. Coming off two dramatic wins at Lime Rock and Road America, there is plenty of confidence and momentum. Our goal will be to keep that rolling and continue to rack up valuable championship points.”

PRESS RELEASE:

CORVETTE RACING AT ROAD AMERICA: Gavin, Milner Score Dramatic GTLM Victory

Corvette DPs finish 1-2-3 as Cameron, Curran win again for Action Express Racing

• 101st all-time victory for Corvette Racing
• No. 4 Corvette C7.R goes from fifth to first in final seven minutes
• Action Express Racing posts third consecutive 1-2 finish
• Chevrolet adds to lead in GT Le Mans Manufacturer, Prototype Engine Manufacturer points

EKLHART LAKE, Wis. (Aug. 7, 2016) – Corvette Racing and Action Express Racing gave Chevrolet and the Corvette marque two victories today at Road America in the Continental Tire Road Race Showcase. Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner won the GT Le Mans (GTLM) class in the No. 4 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R in a thrilling finish by going from fifth to first in the final seven minutes. It was their fourth victory of the season.

Action Express Racing’s Dane Cameron and Eric Curran won at Road America in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s Prototype class for the second year in a row and posted their second straight victory of the season in their No. 31 Whelen Engineering/Team Fox Corvette Daytona Prototype.

It is the first time this season that a Corvette C7.R and Corvette DP recorded victories in the same race. Corvette Daytona Prototypes swept the Prototype podium for the third time in 2016. Chevrolet also solidified its leads in the Prototype Engine and GTLM Manufacturer championships.

“The Corvette DP 1-2-3 finish is the result of great execution by the teams, crews and drivers,” said Jim Campbell, Chevrolet U.S. Vice President, Performance Vehicles and Motorsports. “Congratulations to Dane, Eric and the Action Express Racing No. 31 Whelen Engineering team on the overall win.

“What a wild finish in GTLM!” Campbell added. “Tommy and Oliver drove a great race, the crew made the right adjustment during the last pit stop, and the engineers called a terrific race. Importantly, when the opportunity arose late in the race, Tommy took advantage of it. This 101st win was exciting and special.

“The Corvette Racing and Corvette DP teams never give up, and today is another example.”

The GTLM finish was one the team and fans will remember for a long time. It gave Corvette Racing its 101st victory two weeks after winning No. 100 at Lime Rock Park. More importantly, it extended the lead of Gavin and Milner in the GTLM Driver’s Championship and Chevrolet’s advantage in the class Manufacturer standings.

Gavin drove the first 55 minutes before handing off to Milner. Both Gavin and Milner struggled with the handling on the Corvette until the final stop with 51 minutes remaining. Engineer Chuck Houghton and the No. 4 crew made one final adjustment to the Corvette, which proved to be the winning call. Milner advanced from sixth to fifth with 20 minutes remaining before a late-race restart with three laps remaining set the stage for the drama.

Milner took fourth on the restart and watched as three competing GTLM cars suffered misfortune and contact. He made it through and then took the lead on the final lap.

It was Corvette Racing’s seventh class win at Road America and first since 2008. Gavin won for the fourth time at the track, and Milner for the first time – but it was one to remember.

Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen placed sixth in the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R. At the start, Garcia had a strong run to third place, and he and Magnussen ran with the No. 4 Corvette for the middle-part of the race.

The team opted to make its final stop 10 minutes later than the sister car in hopes of being part of a late-race push for a victory. The result was enough to unofficially keep Garcia and Magnussen third in the GTLM Driver’s Championship.

In the Prototype race, Cameron held off a hard-charging Joao Barbosa in Action Express Racing’s No. 5 Mustang Sampling Corvette DP to win by 0.626 seconds.

The victory unofficially drew the Curran/Cameron pairing to within 1 point of Barbosa and Christian Fittipaldi in the Prototype Driver’s Championship. Action Express Racing finished 1-2 for the third consecutive race.

Jordan Taylor and Ricky Taylor competed the top-three sweep for Chevy power in Wayne Taylor Racing’s No. 10 Konica Minolta Corvette DP. Marc Goossens and Ryan Dalziel placed sixth for Visit Florida Racing in the No. 90 VisitFlorida.com Corvette DP.

The next event for Corvette Racing is the Michelin GT Challenge from Virginia International Raceway on Sunday, Aug. 28. Corvette DPs return to action alongside Corvette Racing for the Lone Star Le Mans on Saturday, Sept. 17 from Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas.

CORVETTE RACING QUOTES

OLIVER GAVIN, CORVETTE RACING NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R - GTLM RACE WINNER: “An extraordinary finish! It was an amazing, amazing job by Tommy, the crew … the strategy at the end there! It just seemed like the car came alive. We made a change on that last stop, and it just brought the car to life. That was what we were missing in the first part of the race. I don't think Tommy can believe it. We were looking at fifth, then that caution came and it mixed everything up. There was contact and crazy stuff happening. It is just wonderful. This is such an amazing result for us and it is big, big, big for the championship. I’m so thrilled!”

TOMMY MILNER, CORVETTE RACING NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R - GTLM RACE WINNER: “I’m speechless! I know everybody says that, but literally… We did not have a very good car at the start; it was super loose. But Chuck (Houghton, No. 4 Corvette engineer) made a great change there at the very end; new tires, a bit more wing in the Corvette and it was the best race car I have ever had. I know I said that at Sebring, but this one somehow topped it. This is the best race car I've ever had in my life right there. At the end there, it seemed like the other guys couldn't get their tires up to temp, and mine were ready to go and were there. With two laps to go, there is nothing more that you could ask for than everyone in front of you and a Corvette underneath you!”

JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FINISHED SIXTH IN GTLM: “The strategy sometimes works and sometimes it doesn’t. Today was one of the days that it didn’t. The car never really felt right today. We kept thinking it would come to us with the setup and tires. That has been the story of our season. Congratulations to Oliver and Tommy. We will keep working and hope to get on the right side of it at VIR.”

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FINISHED SIXTH IN GTLM: “It was a good start. I had a chance to be a tiny bit aggressive into the first turn, but I backed off because I thought it was a little too early to try something that bold. After that things were good. I was able to stay with the lead pack. I thought we might have something for the Porsches especially with our tires. I didn’t think we had the pace to win and just needed to stay close.”

PROTOTYPE WINNER QUOTES

ERIC CURRAN, ACTION EXPRESS RACING NO. 31 WHELEN ENGINEERING/TEAM FOX CORVETTE DP – PROTOTYPE WINNER: "This is good stuff. It is awesome to win two races in a row in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. I’m really happy. We have three podiums in a row, and three races in a row for Action Express and one-two finishes. It’s pretty awesome stuff. It helps Dane (Cameron) and I in the championship. It is going to jump us up to our teammates in the No. 5 car. Dane did an awesome job all day today. The Whelan Engineering Corvette was spot-on. It wasn't a perfect race by any means. We had a few little issues. But at the end of the day, it all worked out for us. I don't know where we stand in the points, but it has to be close now. It's been a good year for us, we are trying to win a championship here. It’s fun to have another win."

DANE CAMERON, ACTION EXPRESS RACING NO. 31 WHELEN ENGINEERING/TEAM FOX CORVETTE DP – PROTOTYPE WINNER: “It was certainly a really tough one here all day. Tire wear is pretty high here. Fuel consumption is high. The competition level in Prototype in certainly really top-notch right now. It is really tough to win races in this category so I’m really proud to be in this Action Express Whelen Corvette Daytona Prototype and to get two in a row. Three one-two finishes in a row for Action Express is something really special. I'm proud to be a part of it. There are two more big races to push forward for the championship, so we will see what happens."

JOAO BARBOSA, ACTION EXPRESS RACING NO. 5 MUSTANG SAMPLING CORVETTE DP – PROTOTYPE RUNNER-UP: “The last two years here have been very good to Action Express Racing. We push each other very hard. Each week we get stronger and stronger as a team. The team comes to the track expecting to win. For sure the last three races have worked out very well. It’s great to have our teammates with it. Any car can still win with two races to go. Today I think we were stronger on the longer runs but not really on the restarts for some reason. At the end, our pace was very similar and track position is key. There wasn’t much we could do at the end. Second place for us is an excellent result. We still have two races to go and need to keep working hard.”

CHRISTIAN FITTIPALDI, ACTION EXPRESS RACING NO. 5 MUSTANG SAMPLING CORVETTE DP – PROTOTYPE RUNNER-UP: “We basically need to race hard but at the same time take care of each other and do our best. It’s still wide-open with us and the 31 car. The 10 car still has a very strong shot at it. But anything can happen. There is still a lot of racing ahead of us. We have to stay on the right foot and see what happens in the last couple of races.”

Press Release:

CORVETTE RACING AT LIME ROCK PARK: Consistency Lands Milner Third on GTLM Grid

Championship-leading No. 4 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R to start on second row Saturday

• Four consecutive laps under 51 seconds for Milner at Lime Rock
• Magnussen qualifies No. 3 Corvette on third row
• First Lime Rock event for Corvette Racing since 2013

LAKEVILLE, Conn. (July 22, 2016) – Corvette Racing’s two Chevrolet Corvette C7.Rs will start Saturday’s Northeast Grand Prix from the second and third rows of the GT Le Mans (GTLM) class following qualifying for the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

Tommy Milner qualified third in the GTLM championship-leading No. 4 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R with Jan Magnussen sixth in the No. 3 Corvette.

Milner, who shares the GTLM Driver’s Championship lead with teammate Oliver Gavin, posted a best lap time of 50.858 (104.3 mph) in the 15-minute qualifying session. It was a tight fight in the class with the top five cars within 0.267 seconds.

Milner may have had the most consistent qualifying effort with four consecutive laps under the 51-second barrier. He finished 0.110 seconds behind pole-winner and ex-Corvette Racing teammate Richard Westbrook, and the two will be in line formation for the 3 p.m. ET start live on FOX.

Magnussen, who will team with Antonio Garcia, record a best lap of 51.264 (103.5 mph)

Both Corvettes showed well in Friday’s two practice sessions. Gavin was quickest in GTLM in the first practice, and Milner and Magnussen were third and fourth in the second session.

As expected, the biggest hurdles Friday were traffic and heat. More than 30 cars shared the 1.474-mile track in the two practice sessions, but the field qualified by class. The constants throughout the day, though, were the temperatures. The ambient temperature at the start of qualifying was 97 F with a track temperature of 114 – remarkably 19 degrees cooler than the highest reading of the day at 133F.

This is the first race at Lime Rock Park for Corvette Racing since 2013. Garcia and Magnussen were second in the American Le Mans Series’ GT class in 2012 and 2013. Gavin leads the team with three victories.

The 2016-spec Corvette C7.R is an updated racecar due to changes in Automobile Club de l’Ouest regulations for top-level GT cars that compete in the IMSA GTLM class. There are a number of aerodynamic changes including a larger splitter at the front and diffuser at the rear of the Corvette. Side skirts and a repositioned wing also are among the most notable changes, along with updated safety features that are now mandated on all GTLM cars.

The two-hour, 40-minute Northeast Grand Prix is scheduled for 3:05 p.m. ET on Saturday, July 23 with live coverage on FOX. IMSA Radio coverage and Chevrolet on-board cameras will be available on IMSA.com.

CORVETTE RACING QUOTES

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SIRIUS-XM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – QUALIFIED THIRD IN GTLM: “Three laps under 51 seconds… the car was really good. We made some good changes before qualifying. It’s always a risk to make those changes but today they really worked. So the engineers get a big pat on the back today. They had it all figured out for qualifying. I’m happy but I made a mistake on one of my quickest laps at Turn Six, so I’m a little bummed about that. I was trying hard and pushing hard. But at the end of the day, starting third here is so huge. It’s going to be so easy to get caught in traffic. It seems like the further up the field you are, the better the breaks go for you. I’m looking forward to keeping my nose stuck up behind the Ford or the BMW. I’ll follow them around for a little bit and if I can get around them, I’ll take it for sure. It’s going to be really tough for all us physically with the heat for the crew guys. It’s hot everywhere around here. It will be about minimizing mistakes and not trying to be too aggressive and too anxious in traffic. We have to realize the race is two hours, 40 minutes and not a 30- or 40-minute sprint.”

JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SIRIUS-XM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – QUALIFIED SIXTH IN GTLM: “The balance on the No. 3 Corvette wasn’t great. It was difficult to find a good lap time, plus it’s super-hot. Once the lap time was there, it was difficult to improve on anything. I’m disappointed but we will see what tomorrow gives us.”

DOUG FEHAN, CORVETTE RACING PROGRAM MANAGER: “Qualifying today at Lime Rock was a prime example of great car, great engineering and great execution by Tommy. With only hundredths of a second between the top cars, starting position will take on a more important role based the incredibly short 1.474-mile layout. Passing here is extremely difficult, and running with the GTD and PC cars presents just another monumental challenge. In addition, with temps in the 90s, every member of our team will be thoroughly tested. In the end, we all know we have the personnel and equipment to get both Corvette C7.Rs to the front. Stay tuned to FOX at 3 p.m. tomorrow because all this will make for a great show for our fans!”

2016 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship – GTLM Standings (After six of 10 events)

Corvette Racing at Lime Rock Park

CORVETTE RACING AT LIME ROCK PARK: We’re Back!

Team returns to Connecticut for first time since 2013 ALMS season

• Four class victories for Corvette Racing at Lime Rock
• Garcia, Magnussen runners-up in team’s last two Lime Rock races
• Gavin, Milner enter with GTLM Championship lead
• Chevrolet out front in GT Le Mans Manufacturer points

DETROIT (July 19, 2016) – Corvette Racing’s tour of classic North American circuits continues this weekend with the team’s return to Lime Rock Park for the first time since 2013. The Northeast Grand Prix is the seventh race in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for the two-car program as Corvette Racing looks to reclaim its winning ways with a new generation of race car.

Saturday’s two-hour, 40-minute race – which airs live on the FOX network – is the first at the 1.54-mile, seven-turn circuit for the Chevrolet Corvette C7.R. It will look to add to the legacy established by its predecessors – the Corvette C5-R and Corvette C6.R race cars that combined to win four times at the circuit from 2004-2008.

The driver lineups for Corvette Racing remain the same as the team’s last Lime Rock appearance – Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen in the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R with GTLM Driver’s Championship leaders Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner in the No. 4 Corvette.

Of the driving roster, Gavin has found the most success with three victories at the circuit and pole position in 2008. Garcia and Magnussen were runners-up in both 2012 and 2013 in the final two years of the Corvette C6.R.

The challenges at Lime Rock Park are many, the quartet of Corvette Racing drivers say. The location of the track and time of year can make it one of the most taxing physically with the heat and humidity – even with on-board air conditioning in the Corvette C7.R

However, the lasting memory of Lime Rock Park according to the drivers is the incredible amount of traffic they typically must navigate on any given lap around the track. At Lime Rock, on average there will be one car for every 0.05 miles of race track. Compare that to one car per every 0.14 miles at Le Mans, which is 8.5 miles in length and featured 60 cars this year.

This year’s Lime Rock race features 32 cars and three of the four classes in the WeatherTech Championship.

The 2016-spec Corvette C7.R is an updated racecar due to changes in Automobile Club de l’Ouest regulations for top-level GT cars that compete in the IMSA GTLM class. There are a number of aerodynamic changes including a larger splitter at the front and diffuser at the rear of the Corvette. Side skirts and a repositioned wing also are among the most notable changes, along with updated safety features that are now mandated on all GTLM cars.

The two-hour, 40-minute Northeast Grand Prix is scheduled for 3:05 p.m. ET on Saturday, July 23 with live coverage on FOX. IMSA Radio coverage and Chevrolet on-board cameras will be available on IMSA.com.

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SIRIUS-XM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R: “This race is very difficult on the strategy. It demands a lot from the drivers and the engineers. Every lap counts, and there will be a lot of them. You can lose a lot of time and laps if everything isn’t perfect on a pit stop, for example. Track position is very important as it’s difficult to pass there. The last time we were there, Jan and I finished second. It’s a big challenge for the team, the drivers and engineers. I hope we can put on a good show.”

JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SIRIUS-XM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R: “Lime Rock definitely is a unique track for us and one that I enjoy. Racing there reminds me a lot of some of the Touring Car and Thundersport events I’ve done in Denmark. It’s very close-quarters racing and you don’t have any time to rest. You have to be super-focused on every lap because of the traffic. There are penalties to be had for making even small mistakes there so you have to be nearly perfect to contend for a win. It has been a few years since we last raced there and it would be nice to continue the momentum from Canada a couple of weeks ago… and even move up a couple steps on the podium.”

OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SIRIUS-XM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R: “It’s the shortest circuit and shortest lap we run every year, but it always has been a challenge physically and mentally with the heat and humidity this time of year. Historically the grip level has been quite low there. You always feel you’re racing everyone all the time because it is so crowded. Physically it’s not that difficult but mentally it can really sap you. You’re constantly coming around to the same spot on the track again, again and again. You can almost get dizzy there because you’re coming around so fast!”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SIRIUS-XM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R: “There are great fans who always turned out well when we raced there with the American Le Mans Series. It’s always a challenge because the track is so physical; there are no breaks there. Right in the middle of the summertime, that area around the track is gets really hot and humid. So physically it’s demanding, and it will be a big challenge in that regard. We’re going back after a couple of years with the extra downforce in the cars; we should see some pretty quick lap times, which will make it even more demanding. For that, it’s exciting with that challenge. It can be pretty hard to pass there. Based on how the classes line up, it could be a very challenging race. I know there are a lot of fans that were disappointed that our class hasn’t been back there for a few years, so I hope they show up in droves for this year’s race.”

DOUG FEHAN, CORVETTE RACING PROGRAM MANAGER: “It was only about a month ago when we were at the longest track on which we compete. We’re now headed to the shortest track on which we will race. That presents a myriad of challenges for crew, the drivers and the engineers. Our level of experience and diversity of capabilities should prove to be a real benefit for when we compete at Lime Rock.”

2016 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship – GTLM Standings (After six of 10 events)

Corvette Racing at Lime Rock Park

PRES RELEASE:

CORVETTE RACING IN CANADA: Banner Day for Corvette Teams

Two GTLM podium positions for Corvette C7.Rs; Action Express Racing goes 1-2 again

• Gavin, Milner drive to runner-up finish in championship-leading Corvette C7.R
• Garcia, Magnussen claim GTLM podium, best finish since Rolex 24 runner-up
• Cameron, Curran take overall victory after 2015 Prototype runner-up

BOWMANVILLE, Ontario, Canada (July 10, 2016) – Sunday was a good day to drive a Chevrolet Corvette-powered race car in the Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

Corvette Racing claimed two podium positions in the GT Le Mans (GTLM) class of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, and Corvette Daytona Prototypes swept the top four overall positions with Action Express Racing’s Eric Curran and Dane Cameron winning their first race of the season.

Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner drove their No. 4 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R to a runner-up GTLM finish in the two-hour, 40-minute race as they retained their season-long lead in the Driver’s Championship for the category, as did Chevrolet in Manufacturer points. Third place went to the pole-sitting No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R of Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen for their best result since opening the season with a runner-up class finish in the Rolex 24 At Daytona.

Gavin and Milner picked up four positions from their sixth-place qualifying result in a measured drive through the field. For the second weekend in a row, strategy and pit stop execution proved key as Milner leap-frogged the No. 3 car following the last stop for both cars, which saw them pit on consecutive laps with a little under an hour to go.

Garcia had taken over for Magnussen with 57 minutes, but Milner had the advantage with warmer Michelin tires and moved ahead of his teammate on Garcia’s outlap. Gavin had started the race in the No. 4 Corvette and picked up a position before the end of his 43-minute stint.

Garcia and Magnussen led much of the race’s opening half before the final pit sequence. Magnussen drove the middle stint while Garcia had the opening and closing ones. Garcia, who claimed pole position, made up two positions in the final 54 minutes to climb back on the podium with Magnussen. The result unofficially moved them to fifth place in the GTLM Driver’s Championship.

In the Prototype category, Curran and Cameron went from sixth at the start to their third victory in two seasons in the No. 31 Whelen Engineering/Team Fox Corvette DP. After finishing second a year ago with Curran, Cameron drove the No. 31 Corvette DP to the lead with 47 minutes remaining and won by 10.112 seconds. The victory increased Chevrolet’s lead in the Prototype Engine Manufacturer Championship to nine points.

Both Action Express Corvette DPs took left-side tires only on their final pit stops, and the third-place Wayne Taylor Racing No. 10 Konica Minolta Corvette DP of Jordan Taylor took only two tires as well. Taylor got out of the pitlane first as he pitted the same lap as the No. 5 Corvette DP but struggled with grip at the front of the Corvette DP. That allowed Barbosa to move into second with six minutes left.

Ricky Taylor led the first 11 laps after a strong start of the race from the second position.

Marc Goossens and Ryan Dalziel were fourth for Visit Florida Racing in the No. 90 VisitFlorida.com Corvette DP. Both drivers took turns leading the race during their respective stints.

Sunday’s results mean Barbosa and Fittipaldi keep their lead in the Prototype Driver’s Championship standings with Curran and Cameron four points back in second place. Jordan and Ricky Taylor are third followed by Goossens.

The next event for Corvette Racing is the Northeast Grand Prix from Lime Rock Park on Saturday, July 23. Corvette DPs return to the track at the Continental Tire Road Race Showcase at Road America on Sunday, Aug. 7.

CORVETTE RACING GTLM QUOTES

OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SIRIUS-XM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – RUNNER-UP IN GTLM: “The top step is always the ultimate goal. But today, would we have taken second at the beginning of the day? I think we most probably would have. It was a tough battle and a good battle. Tommy did a great job when he got in the Corvette. He really hustled the car, and Reed (Sullivan), our engineer, made some great changes to the car to make it more comfortable for Tommy in the end. It’s very good points in the championship, and it’s very close between us and the 67 car. I think it might be like that for the rest of the year. But the nice thing is that we are right back in the hunt. The Corvette was fast and good today. The team did a fantastic job in the pits, and you have to give them credit. They kept digging and digging all the way through the race. So I’m very happy.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SIRIUS-XM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – RUNNER-UP IN GTLM: “I feel like we’ve definitely earned this one. The car doesn’t feel that much different than the last few races, but we are in the hunt. All the work we did the last couple of races to find some speed in our Corvette has paid off today. Olly did a great job in the first stint. It’s so tough to pass here, especially early on when you’re all stacked up on top each other. Keeping his nose clean was an awesome job by him.”

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SIRIUS-XM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – THIRD PLACE IN GTLM: “It’s a little bit of a shame. We led two-thirds of the race. I feel like the race came down to the last pit stop. We were the only car to do a driver change, so maybe it took a little longer than the other cars that pitted, especially the winning car. They ended up gambling on fuel. It put me in a very difficult situation with Tommy (Milner) on warmer tires. But it’s a 2-3 for Corvette so I think this is a very good bounceback for us.”

JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SIRIUS-XM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – THIRD PLACE IN GTLM: “The way the 912 and 67 cars pitted, which put them out front on the second stop, was the race. That was a gamble we couldn’t take because we were in the lead at the time. We would have looked pretty foolish if we tried it and didn’t work out. That put us a little bit behind for when Antonio got back in, but he did great to fight his way back up to third. When you’re leading two-thirds of the race, you want the biggest trophy. But this is a good step forward for Corvette Racing with both Corvettes on the podium. Now we need to try and get some wins.”

DOUG FEHAN, CORVETTE RACING PROGRAM MANAGER: “Today was a tremendous example of why we consider the IMSA GT Le Mans category to be the best GT racing in the world. Each car and each manufacturer were competitive, and taking two positions on the GTLM podium is a great achievement for the Corvette Racing program. The strategy was very solid for both Corvette C7.R teams, as was the execution in the pitlane and by all four drivers. All in all, it was a very good day in results and points for Corvette Racing.”

CORVETTE DAYTONA PROTOTYPE QUOTES

DANE CAMERON, ACTION EXPRESS RACING NO. 31 WHELEN ENGINEERING/TEAM FOX CORVETTE DP – PROTOTYPE RACE WINNER: “It’s certainly a nice feeling to feel like we’ve gotten the monkey off our back here at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Throughout my career, I don’t think I’ve ever been off the podium but I had never won here. It’s a really nice feeling to finally get that. Last year we came so close with an extra pit stop and a small issue but still nearly won the race. It’s really nice to get some redemption from all those ‘what ifs’ and ‘almosts’. Our Corvette DP was awesome all day; it was so good in traffic and so good in clean air. Once the Action Express boys got us to the front, we could really set the pace with our Whelen Corvette. Once we got to the front, no one could touch us and we could control it from there. It’s really fantastic day for Action Express to be 1-2 again. We inched our way toward the front in the Driver’s Championship, which is the goal. A big thanks to Whelen Engineering and Sonny Whelen for the chance to drive this car.”

ERIC CURRAN, ACTION EXPRESS RACING NO. 31 WHELEN ENGINEERING/TEAM FOX CORVETTE DP – PROTOTYPE RACE WINNER: “What a day! It’s so much fun to move up one position from last year after finishing second. This Whelen Engineering Corvette DP was spot-on. It was a tough start to the weekend with all the rainy conditions, and qualifying was tough. I had a reasonable run at the beginning of the race but traffic was tough. The pit stops were unbelievable. The Action Express guys just nailed the pit stops. We kept jumping cars on every stop. Dane did an amazing job right to the end. I feel like I have the best team, the best crew, the best sponsors and the best teammate. I’ve won a lot of races here in a red-and-white Whelen Corvette, so it’s nice to get back up on that top step. I love coming to this track; it’s so much fun. Hats off to the crew, Whelen Engineering, Sonny Whelen and Team Chevy. It’s nice to have a 1-2 finish again for the second week in a row.”

JOAO BARBOSA, ACTION EXPRESS RACING NO. 5 MUSTANG SAMPLING CORVETTE DP – PROTOTYPE RACE RUNNER-UP: “We had an usually tough race. At the end of the day, I’m happy with the results and the points. I’m happy that Action Express finished 1-2. At one point, I thought the best we could get was fourth place. But the team had a great strategy on the stops and only put on left-side tires on the last stop. Initially I was very concerned about that. It turned out to be perfect though. We were able to leapfrog the 90 car and then the 10 car looked like it suffered a little bit on pace at the end of the race, so I was very happy with that. Coming out with second place is a very good result. There is still a long way to go in the championship, and a lot can happen. But it’s always better to be out front than in the back. Congratulations to the 31 guys. They had a perfect race with a great car and great strategy.”

CHRISTIAN FITTIPALDI, ACTION EXPRESS RACING NO. 5 MUSTANG SAMPLING CORVETTE DP – PROTOTYPE RACE RUNNER-UP: “Overall, I’m very happy with where we finished and very happy that we finished 1-2 today for Action Express Racing. Hats off to Eric (Curran) and Dane (Cameron). They drove a perfect race, and that’s it. Let’s turn the page and move on to the next one.”

JORDAN TAYLOR, WAYNE TAYLOR RACING NO. 10 KONICA MINOLTA CORVETTE DP – THIRD PLACE IN PROTOTYPE: “That was an OK day. Third place is good points, but the guys we are racing in the championship finished ahead of us. So that’s a little frustrating. A positive to take away is that last year at this race, we were quite far off the pace and this year we were right in the hunt pace-wise. I think if we had track position we would have been in good shape. We had a big drop-off on the front tires at the end though, so there was no way I was going to hold off the 5 car. There are good and bad things to take away, but a podium is not a bad thing.”

RYAN DALZIEL, VISIT FLORIDA RACING NO. 90 VISITFLORIDA.COM CORVETTE DP – FOURTH PLACE IN PROTOTYPE: “The positive is that we were consistently one of the fastest cars in our class again. Canadian Tire Motorsport Park is a great track to come to but unfortunately with the high-speed nature of the track it’s extremely difficult to overtake. To be honest, with all of the traffic, nobody is doing anything wrong, but everyone is in their own race. Unfortunately you can lose six seconds on one lap and then be clear on the next lap, but it’s kind of the luck of the draw. So we gambled to try to get track position which paid off at the start. We actually were just as good on two tires as we were on four, so from that point of view everything worked correctly. Without a yellow, we knew it was a gamble, but it is what it is, and we had a good solid race.”

JIM LUTZ, CORVETTE DAYTONA PROTOTYPE PROGRAM MANAGER: “It doesn’t get any better than having four Chevrolet-powered Corvette Daytona Prototypes sweep the first four positions in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. All four entries showed exceptional pace, reliability and strategy. Congratulations go to Eric Curran, Dane Cameron and everyone on the Action Express Racing No. 31 Whelen Engineering/Team Fox Corvette DP for winning today’s race. The results put us in a great position in all three Prototype championships, including our efforts for Chevrolet’s fifth straight Prototype Engine Manufacturer title.”

Press Release:

CORVETTE RACING IN CANADA: GTLM Pole Position for Garcia in No. 3 Corvette

First pole of 2016 season for Chevrolet Corvette C7.R

• Corvette Racing going for 12^th victory at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park
• GTLM Championship leaders Gavin, Milner to start from third row in class
• Victory on Sunday would be 100^th all-time for Corvette Racing
• Ricky Taylor leads Corvette DP effort with front-row qualifying position

BOWMANVILLE, Ontario, Canada (July 9, 2016) – Corvette Racing’s Antonio Garcia claimed pole position Saturday for the Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix in the GT Le Mans (GTLM) class as sports car racing’s premier GT team looks for its 12^th victory at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

Garcia, driving the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R, set a lap of 1:15.198 (117.7 mph) in the 15-minute qualifying session. It was the first pole position at the track for Garcia, who will go for his second career victory at CTMP with teammate Jan Magnussen. The pairing won in class at the 2.459-mile, 10-turn circuit in 2014 and placed third a year ago.

A victory in Sunday’s two-hour, 40-minute race would make it an even dozen for Corvette Racing at the historic Canadian road course. The team’s first victory here came in 2001, and Corvette Racing has won twice in the last three years. The win also would give the team its 100^th all-time program victory.

Corvette-powered entries also qualified toward the front in the Prototype category. Ricky Taylor, teammate to Garcia and Magnussen at this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, was the second-fastest qualifier Saturday in his Wayne Taylor Racing No. 10 Konica Minolta Corvette DP.

Garcia led a highly competitive GTLM field in qualifying as the fastest seven cars were within 0.582 seconds. Among those was Oliver Gavin in the No. 4 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R with the sixth-fastest time in class. The co-leader in the GTLM Driver’s Championship with Tommy Milner, Gavin’s best lap was a 1:15.549 (117.1 mph) to end up 0.351 seconds off Garcia’s time but also barely one-tenth of a second from the second row in class.

Gavin and Milner hold an eight-point lead in the Driver’s Championship with Chevrolet leading by seven points in the manufacturer standings. The pairing won together in Canada in the 2013 American Le Mans Series race.

In the Prototype ranks, Taylor and brother Jordan will go for their second straight overall Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix victory. Ricky Taylor’s best time was 1:10.435 (125.6 mph) to lead the quartet of Corvette DP entries into Sunday’s race. He will start ahead of Prototype Driver’s Championship co-leader Christian Fittipaldi in Action Express Racing’s No. 5 Mustang Sampling Corvette DP.

Fittipaldi’s best time was 1:10.761 (125.1 mph) in the Corvette DP he shares with Joao Barbosa. They are coming off a victory a week ago in the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen. That win also increased Chevrolet’s advantage in the Prototype Engine Manufacturer Championship to four points.

Action Express Racing teammate Eric Curran qualified fifth with a lap of 1:11.177 (124.3 mph) in the No. 31 Whelen Engineering/Team Fox Corvette DP. Marc Goossens was next for Visit Florida Racing with a 1:11.296 (124.1 mph) lap in the No. 90 VisitFlorida.com Corvette DP.

The two-hour, 40-minute Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix presented by Hawk Performance is scheduled for 11:05 a.m. ET on Sunday, July 10. It will air live on FOX Sports 1 starting at 11 a.m. ET with IMSA Radio coverage and Chevrolet on-board cameras available on IMSA.com.

CORVETTE RACING GTLM QUOTES

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SIRIUS-XM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – GTLM POLE-WINNER: “Everyone at Corvette Racing did a fantastic job. We really like this track, and our records reflect that. It will be a tough race but I am very pleased with the result today. We are always very strong here, and I was looking forward to qualifying. Track position is very important here so I think we are in a very strong position. It’s nice to be up there near the front and fighting. The car has felt pretty decent all year long. At points we were just lacking some speed. But we have to do our jobs. If we do our pit stops in the right way have the right strategy, execution and do everything at 100 percent, then you can be in a position for a win.”

OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SIRIUS-XM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – QUALIFIED SIXTH IN GTLM: “After the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge race, the circuit was very slick and maybe we were banking on the track to have more grip in it. I had a very loose and nervous car throughout. Traction was compromised out of Turn Five, and we were running a stiffer package than the sister car. We know which way to go. I think we have a car that can get to the front, but we need to get it calmed down at the rear. The problem here is that passing is very difficult and track position is everything. That’s why qualifying is so important here. This is most probably – apart from Long Beach – one of the most important qualifying sessions of the year because it’s so hard to pass. I’m frustrated that we’re not further up the grid. We’ll have to work at it and see. Anything can happen in these races. The guys did a great job in the pits at Watkins Glen to gain us positions. We’ll have to keep digging.”

DOUG FEHAN, CORVETTE RACING PROGRAM MANAGER: “Those who follow Corvette Racing know that pole position is never a primary objective of this team. However, you only need to look at history to see what played a significant role in our success today. We’ve spent 17 years racing at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park with the same team, the same cars and many of the same drivers and team members. When you spend that amount of time at any one place, chances are that you’re going to excel. Today was a great demonstration of our engineering, our implementation and our drivers.”

CORVETTE DAYTONA PROTOTYPE QUOTES

RICKY TAYLOR, WAYNE TAYLOR RACING NO. 10 KONICA MINOLTA CORVETTE DP – QUALIFIED SECOND IN PROTOTYPE:  “It’s nice to have another good qualifying session – the first of the DPs again and ahead the people who we’re fighting with for the championship. We’ve got that to be happy about. It’s going to be a tough race tomorrow with the GT cars out there. But the positive is that we’ve made improvements with the car every session. I think we can make more improvements before the race and keep our nose clean and look after the championship.”

CHRISTIAN FITTIPALDI, ACTION EXPRESS RACING NO. 5 MUSTANG SAMPLING CORVETTE DP – QUALIFIED FOURTH IN PROTOTYPE: “I’m not sad but not happy with P4. Obviously we expected a little bit better but it went the way it went. We tried a couple different things for qualifying and it didn’t really go our way. So now we will go back, change the car and hopefully we will run strong Sunday exactly how we did last year to bring the Chevy-powered No. 5 Action Express Corvette DP home and bring it on the highest spot on the podium tomorrow.”

JIM LUTZ, CORVETTE DAYTONA PROTOTYPE PROGRAM MANAGER: “Second and fourth on the Prototype grid is a positive start for our Corvette DP teams at Wayne Taylor Racing and Action Express Racing. We may lack a little pace on a single lap, but we have seen the reliability of our Corvette Daytona Prototypes and our teams know how to execute. We will look for that trend to continue in tomorrow’s race.”

Press Release:

CORVETTE RACING IN CANADA: Going for a Dozen North of the Border

Canadian Tire Motorsport Park the most successful venue for leading GTLM team

• Twelve class victories for Corvette Racing at historic Canadian venue
• Magnussen leads Corvette Racing drivers with six career victories at CTMP
• Gavin, Milner lead GTLM Championship after five rounds

DETROIT (July 6, 2016) – Of all the tracks where Corvette Racing has won a sports car race, no other venue has been as good to the team as Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. In 17 years, Corvette Racing has won 11 times at the historic 2.459-mile, 10-turn circuit formerly known as Mosport. The team gets a shot at an even dozen with Sunday’s Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix presented by Hawk Performance.

It will be the second consecutive event weekend for teams in the IMSA WeatherTech Championship. It’s the middle portion of a stretch that sees Corvette Racing compete three times in four weeks on top of its annual trek to the 24 Hours of Le Mans each summer.

The two-car team and its pair of Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.Rs are in the thick of a tense fight for the GT Le Mans (GTLM) championships for drivers, manufacturers and teams. Following Sunday’s Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen at Watkins Glen International, Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner maintain their season-long lead in the Driver’s Championship following back-to-back victories to open the season.

Corvette Racing’s four drivers have amassed 12 victories at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park dating back to 1999. Jan Magnussen leads the quartet with six with five coming in Corvette Racing entries. The Dane, who teams with Antonio Garcia in the No. 3 Corvette C7.R, won overall in 1999 before reeling off five wins in eight years with the team: 2007-2009, 2011 and 2014.

He and Garcia won the GTLM race in 2014, which was the first race at the track for the Corvette C7.R. The previous year, Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner won a thrilling GT race as part of the American Le Mans Series. It marked Milner’s first win at the track and Gavin’s fourth.

Canadian Tire Motorsport Park is recognized by drivers as one of the most challenging tracks on the schedule and features fast speeds, big elevation changes and high risk. It’s a layout that hasn’t changed much since its founding in the early 1960s. Since then it has played host to Can-Am, Formula 5000, USAC stock cars, IndyCar, Trans-Am, Formula Atlantic, and of course the American Le Mans Series and IMSA. Most notably, the circuit was the site of the Formula One Canadian Grand Prix eight times between 1967-77.

Corvette Racing legend Ron Fellows is part of the ownership group and has helped oversee a transformation in venue facilities since 2011.

The 2016-spec Corvette C7.R is an updated racecar due to changes in Automobile Club de l’Ouest regulations for top-level GT cars that compete in the IMSA GTLM class. There are a number of aerodynamic changes including a larger splitter at the front and diffuser at the rear of the Corvette. Side skirts and a repositioned wing also are among the most notable changes, along with updated safety features that are now mandated on all GTLM cars.

The two-hour, 40-minute Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix presented by Hawk Performance is scheduled for 11:05 a.m. ET on Sunday, July 10. It will air live on FOX Sports 1 starting at 11 a.m. ET with IMSA Radio coverage and Chevrolet on-board cameras available on IMSA.com.

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SIRIUS-XM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R: “We as drivers enjoy Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, and the Corvette seems to as well. The flow and speeds there are fantastic. It’s very similar to Watkins Glen where you feel like you are always flat-out. It’s always a good time to go to Canada, where we have been very successful over the years. We will do our best to keep it that way. These three races in a row are always fun to do - Le Mans, Watkins Glen and Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Coming from Le Mans, then to Watkins Glen to CTMP is a good three-race stretch – they are some of the best race tracks we go to every year.”

JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SIRIUS-XM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R: “It’s hard to find a driver that doesn’t enjoy Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. It’s another classic North American track that I really, really like. This is a great stretch of races in IMSA where we are at old-school circuits like this one, Watkins Glen, Lime Rock, Road America and VIR. For me, I’ve been fortunate to have a lot of success at CTMP with a lot of wins - all but one in a Corvette. There are a lot of great memories here and to have that kind of record at such a historic place where some of racing’s greats have won is really special."

OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SIRIUS-XM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R: “Canadian Tire Motorsport Park does seem to be a win-or-bust track for me! But it’s a track that I enjoy. It’s fast, flowing and aggressive. It’s going to be fun in these cars, for sure. I’m looking forward to that aspect of it – it’s such a thrill to drive. I’ve won there with a lot of different Corvette Racing teammates. It’s a place where if it all clicks then we end up winning. If it doesn’t, then we usually have a really bad day. Hopefully it’s the first!”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SIRIUS-XM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R: “The most satisfying race of my career was probably 2013 at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. I basically had to drive the wheels off our car for about an hour to keep second place behind me. I pick that one over a big win like Le Mans, Daytona or Sebring because that was one of the first races where my performance in the car made a difference. Make no mistake that racing is a huge team sport. But that was a race where I had to be perfect. I really sort of challenged myself in the car mentally just to be the best. I had never to that point had a feeling in the race car like that - where my performance in the car made a difference. That was a huge confidence boost for me.”

DOUG FEHAN, CORVETTE RACING PROGRAM MANAGER: “No summer would be complete without our annual trek to Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. The drivers love the place... it is wicked fast and has  the 'thrill" element they they all really enjoy. Adding to that are all our Canadian fans. They are dedicated, knowledgeable and passionate about IMSA road racing. Our history at CTMP is very strong and shows the consistency of the Corvette platform over the years. Everyone at Corvette Racing will do everything we can to extend that record of success for all our loyal Corvette fans and owners.”

2016 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship –  Provisional GTLM Standings (After five of 10 events)

Corvette Racing at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park

Press Release:

CORVETTE RACING AT WATKINS GLEN: Strategy, Execution Rule the Day

Barbosa, Fittipaldi lead Action Express Racing 1-2 finish

• Milner, Gavin place fourth in GTLM on strength of strategy, pit stop and driving
• Corvette Daytona Prototype wins fifth straight year at Sahlen’s Six Hours
• Chevrolet retains leads in Prototype and GTLM Manufacturer championships

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (July 3, 2016) – There was good reason to celebrate on Independence Day weekend for the Corvette Racing and Corvette Daytona Prototype programs.

Corvette Racing’s Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner – on the strength of a great late-race strategy call and perfect final pit stop – managed a fourth-place result with their No. 4 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R in the GT Le Mans class of the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen on Sunday. What made the result so meaningful is that the pairing retained their lead in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s GTLM Driver’s standings and increased Chevrolet’s lead in the class’s Manufacturer points rankings.

On the Corvette DP side, Joao Barbosa and Christian Fittipaldi led a 1-2 finish for Action Express Racing as they won the Sahlen’s Six Hours for the second time. It was the fifth straight victory in the event for the Corvette Daytona Prototype and increased Chevrolet’s advantage in the Prototype Engine Manufacturer Championship.

Barbosa and Fittipaldi won by 0.709 seconds in their No. 5 Mustang Sampling Corvette Daytona Prototype over their Action Express Racing teammates Dane Cameron and Eric Curran in the No. 31 Whelen Engineering/Team Fox Corvette DP. In fact, Corvette Daytona Prototypes held four of the top six finishing positions.

Ricky Taylor, Jordan Taylor and Max Angelelli were fourth in Wayne Taylor Racing’s No. 10 Konica Minolta Corvette DP. Visit Florida Racing, winner at The Glen in 2014 and 2015, finished sixth with Ryan Dalziel and Marc Goossens sharing the No. 90 VisitFlorida.com Corvette DP.

All four Corvette Daytona Prototypes led with Barbosa and Fittipaldi combining to lead 107 of the race’s 197 laps including the final 22. The victory also moved Barbosa and Fittipaldi into the Prototype Driver’s Championship lead as they go for a third consecutive title.

In GTLM, the No. 4 Corvette went from seventh in class with an hour left to fourth by the end. Gavin and Milner drove strong, consistent stints up to that point, and a late-race strategy call saw Milner make the car’s final pit one lap later than a majority of the GTLM competitors. The extra lap meant a shorter fueling period, and the four-tire change was perfectly executed by the No. 4 crew to send Milner back out in the midst of a tense four-car battle.

Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen in the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Corvette C7.R showed a similarly consistent pace to the sister car throughout the event. The pairing ran as high as fourth inside the final hour had hoped to duplicate its 2014 victory at Watkins Glen but came up short. Garcia and Magnussen did have to recover from a couple of small issues early in the race that set the No. 3 Corvette back in the order. As the race wound down, heavy traffic and battles for position in all the classes put an even bigger premium on track position as the pair battled for a strong finish.

The next event for Corvette Racing and Corvette Daytona Prototypes is the Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix presented by Hawk Performance from Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. The only Canadian race for the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship is scheduled for 11:05 a.m. ET on Sunday, July 10. It will air live on FOX Sports 1 starting at 11 a.m. ET with IMSA Radio coverage and Chevrolet on-board cameras available on IMSA.com.

CORVETTE RACING QUOTES

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SIRIUS-XM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FINISHED FOURTH IN GTLM: "I'm smiling. I feel like we just won the race. We had the perfect race… absolutely perfect race. Great pit stops, no mistakes anywhere at all. At the end I drove as hard as I possibly could. I could tell that the Ferrari in front of me was slow to start the stints. I just got lucky in traffic and got a big run on him in the Bus Stop. I also got a nice draft from a PC car that was passing him and was able to sneak by him in the Bus Stop. I’m just so proud of the effort that this team gives. It doesn't matter if we are the fastest car or the slowest car. We try. We try hard all the time. It was a great job by Olly. It was a great job by the crew guys. It’s a great result for Corvette Racing.”

ON THE LAST PIT STOP: "We gambled a little bit with staying out a little bit longer. That is always a risk. The later you make that last stop, or even you back-track a little bit, you risk getting caught out with a full-course yellow. However, if it goes green you have a shorter fill at the very end. That is really where we gained all that time and track position; our fill at the end was shorter than anybody else because we were the last car to stop. It takes some luck in racing for sure, but I’m really, really happy with the result today."

OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SIRIUS-XM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FINISHED FOURTH IN GTLM: "Today's finish boiled down to that last pit stop. We had to take less fuel than the No. 3 car but the pressure was on the guys to execute on that final stop and they did an amazing job. The tires were done just as the fuel coming out as well. The car was down and Tommy just blasted it out of the pitlane. He then executed in that final stint and got past the Ferrari and just did a fantastic job. Fourth place for us today is like a win. If someone had offered us that at the start of the day with our starting position and the pace compared to our competitors... yes, it is like a win. We are still leading in the Driver’s Championship. We've extended in the Manufacturer’s Championship for Chevrolet, which is great. I really don't think we could have asked for any more.  A great job by everyone here at Corvette Racing - a real team effort."

JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SIRIUS-XM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FINISHED SEVENTH IN GTLM: “It was a pretty uneventful couple of stints for me and was about keeping our position. We were trying to stay ahead of the Porsches. It seemed like at certain points during the stint we could fight a little bit with the Ferrari but most of the time they can drive away like some of the other cars.”

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SIRIUS-XM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – FINISHED SEVENTH IN GTLM: “It was a disappointing day for our team in a lot of ways. Seventh place is not a result we are happy with. We will move ahead to Canada next weekend and try to improve on today.”

DOUG FEHAN, CORVETTE RACING PROGRAM MANAGER: “Today was a perfect example of why Corvette Racing never gives up. It was a combination of great strategy, great execution in the pits and great driving to come home with a fourth-place finish. We were able to maximize our results on a very challenging day, which every member of Corvette Racing and the Corvette community should be proud of.”

CORVETTE DAYTONA PROTOTYPE QUOTES

JOAO BARBOSA, ACTION EXPRESS RACING NO. 5 MUSTANG SAMPLING CORVETTE DP – PROTOTYPE RACE WINNER: “It was probably one of the fastest pace races that I’ve done in a while. The track really suits this kind of racing. They did an amazing job with the surface. We were able to keep up the pace for a long time. We made a few changes after qualifying and we really hit it. The Corvette DP was really good. This team has been working really hard to get a win, and we did it in great style. It was a great race, very hard. We were really matched with the No. 31 so track position was really important. When I got out in clean air, I felt like I had an edge to the 31 and then I just had to maintain the gap. It was a great day for Action Express Racing.”

CHRISTIAN FITTIPALDI, ACTION EXPRESS RACING NO. 5 MUSTANG SAMPLING CORVETTE DP – PROTOTYPE RACE WINNER: “This finish was lot better than last year. It was definitely a strong race from Lap One. We drove on the limit the whole time. The Continental tires were awesome; they were really hanging in there. Part of the reason for our success here was pure race craft. We were perfect on the pit stops and we were really good in traffic. I’m very proud and very happy to be a part of this win. It feels really great because this is the first race of the second part of the season. We couldn’t have started better. If you’re looking to go for the championship you have to be strong anywhere you go.”

DANE CAMERON, ACTION EXPRESS RACING NO. 31 WHELEN ENGINEERING/TEAM FOX CORVETTE DP – PROTOTYPE RUNNER-UP: “We certainly knew it was going to be tough on the last restarts. The guys did a great job to get us the jump and cycle around the No. 5 on the previous stint. The car was feeling really good. The roles switched on the next stop and Joao (Barbosa) skipped around us. We felt we were so evenly matched we weren’t going to be in it. Maybe if traffic played into it, but then I had the No. 60 and I had to

handle that. It’s nice to finish 1-2 for Action Express. Overall a great day for the team and I’m happy to play a part in it.”

ERIC CURRAN, ACTION EXPRESS RACING NO. 31 WHELEN ENGINEERING/TEAM FOX CORVETTE DP – PROTOTYPE RUNNER-UP: “Overall it was a good day for sure. We finished 1- 2. We would have like to reverse it, though. We started out with a tough situation in qualifying and didn’t get the car right. But we fought back and got the car right today. The car was a great piece for the whole six hours. Our guys did a great pit stops today. It was down to the wire. It was fun to be racing for six hours and have a few cars that could win. Dane did a great job holding off the 60 car in the end that was coming strong.”

RICKY TAYLOR, WAYNE TAYLOR RACING NO. 10 KONICA MINOLTA CORVETTE DP - FINISHED FOURTH IN PROTOTYPE: “Track position was really important. I think if we would’ve been in the top two or three at the end, we would’ve finished there. We had the car to hold them off but it was kind of hard to pass since everyone was just kind of running in a line. We struggled to get going on the late restarts. Once we got going, though, we could run with the leaders but just not get around them. It was just kind of a funny race the way the track position worked out. Our guys had great stops the whole race and they gave us great track position in the beginning and we were able to hold it for a while. By the time we got to the end of the race, we were in the back of the pack a little bit. The car ran great the whole time and the guys executed once again.”

JIM LUTZ, CHEVROLET CORVETTE DAYTONA PROTOTYPE PROGRAM MANAGER: “Congratulations to Joao Barbosa, Christian Fittipaldi and Action Express Racing on a hard-fought victory today at Watkins Glen. All our Corvette DP teams performed well throughout the day and led at various points. A 1-2 result for the Corvette Daytona Prototype with Dane Cameron and Eric Curran finishing second truly is a great day. That we were able to add to Chevrolet’s lead in the Prototype Engine Manufacturer Championship is even more important.”

Press Release:

CORVETTE RACING AT WATKINS GLEN: Full Focus on Sunday’s Six Hours

GTLM Championship co-leader Milner leads Corvette C7.R attack in GTLM qualifying

• Corvette Racing a 2014 class-winner at Watkins Glen
• Ricky Taylor second overall in Wayne Taylor Racing Corvette DP
• Chevrolet leads Prototype and GTLM Manufacturer championships

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (July 2, 2016) – Corvette Racing will take its experience and success in endurance racing into Sunday’s Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen with the two Chevrolet Corvette C7.Rs on the third and fourth rows in the GT Le Mans (GTLM) class of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

Tommy Milner qualified the No. 4 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R in the sixth position Saturday after a lap of 1:42.794 (119.0 mph) at the 3.4-mile, 11-turn road course. This weekend is the first race for the IMSA series on the freshly repaved surface, which combined with improved aero and downforce on the 2016-spec Corvette meant that Milner qualified 1.5 seconds faster than the team’s best effort in time trials two years ago. Last year’s qualifying was rained out.

Jan Magnussen qualified the No. 3/4 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R eighth Saturday with a lap of 1:43.135 (118.6 mph). Two years ago, Magnussen and Antonio Garcia won in class during the team’s maiden race at The Glen and naturally the first here for the Corvette C7.R. This is Corvette Racing’s first race in North America since the 24 Hours of Le Mans two weeks ago and just its third appearance in the Sahlen’s Six Hours.

Gavin and Milner enter the weekend with the lead in the GTLM Driver’s Championship as well as the top spot in class points for the Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup. It is a four-event competition made up of the Rolex 24 At Daytona, Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, Sahlen’s Six Hours and the season-ending Petit Le Mans.

Already, Gavin and Milner have won at Daytona and Sebring this year, while Garcia and Magnussen are third in Endurance Cup points on the strength of a runner-up finish at Daytona.

In the Prototype category, Ricky Taylor was the fastest Corvette Daytona Prototype driver with a lap of 1:35.749 (128.0 mph) in the No. 10 Konica Minolta Corvette DP to qualify fourth. He and Jordan Taylor are tied for the Prototype Driver’s Championship lead and have won twice this season. They will reunite with Max Angelelli for Sunday’s race.

Christian Fittipaldi was sixth in Prototype for Action Express Racing in the No. 5 Mustang Sampling Corvette DP that he shares with Joao Barbosa. The pairing is tied with the Taylors in points and won at Watkins Glen in 2013.

Ryan Dalziel was next in the order in the Visit Florida Racing No. 90 VisitFlorida.com Corvette DP, which has won the last two years at The Glen. Dalziel was just ahead of Eric Curran in Action Express Racing’s No. 31 Whelen Engineering/Team Fox Corvette DP.

The Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen is scheduled for 10:10 a.m. ET on Sunday, July 3. It will air live on FOX Sports 1 starting at 10 a.m. ET 1 with audio coverage from IMSA Radio is available on IMSA.com.

CORVETTE RACING QUOTES

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SIRIUS-XM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – QUALIFIED SIXTH IN GTLM: “We’ve been seventh and eighth in practice most of the week and snuck up one position. It’s close between some of us, but there are other cars that have pretty impressive pace. Yes, we look at the lap times but we focus on ourselves mostly to make our car better. We’ve done that mostly this weekend. We didn’t test here so we’ve been trying different things with the setup and found something in the first practice that set us up really well for today and tomorrow. We’re making really good changes, and I think we can make another couple small ones to make the Corvette nicer to drive. I’m happy. I think Oliver is happy, and generally as a team we’re performing well. Our focus is on the race. Strategy, not making mistakes and having a good car for the whole race are massively important.”

JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SIRIUS-XM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – QUALIFIED EIGHTH IN GTLM: “I think we got all we could out of the car. If we race well and use the right strategy, that can help us tomorrow. On pace, we won’t be able to do much. Qualifying was the first time we’ve been able to be out there by ourselves, do laps and fine-tune your driving. But it was about doing the one fast lap.”

CORVETTE DAYTONA PROTOTYPE QUOTE

RICKY TAYLOR, WAYNE TAYLOR RACING NO. 10 KONICA MINOLTA CORVETTE DP - QUALIFIED FOURTH IN PROTOTYPE: “We had a great car again. Our car at Watkins Glen is always good. We tested here and found some good information on our Corvette and the Continental tires. We were able to use that knowledge today to put ourselves up much higher in the field than we would have otherwise. The P2 cars seem to be in a different class, but we were able to put ourselves with them. It says a lot about our team and how we executed and applied what we learned in qualifying. We were going faster than we expected and burned more fuel than we thought. I maybe missed it a little bit on the last couple of laps but in the end I don’t think the result would have changed.”

CORVETTE RACING AT WATKINS GLEN: Back to Racing in the U.S.

Returning to North America with Driver’s, Manufacturer, Team GT Le Mans points lead

• Six-hour endurance event plays into strengths of Corvette Racing
• Gavin, Milner enter with GTLM season and Endurance Cup points lead
• Garcia, Magnussen winners at Sahlen’s Six Hours in 2014

DETROIT (June 28, 2016) – Corvette Racing has returned from across the Atlantic and is set to resume its GT Le Mans (GTLM) campaign in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship this weekend at Watkins Glen International. The Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen is the fifth IMSA event for Corvette Racing and kicks off a run of three events in four weeks.

The upcoming stretch could play a large role in determining the GT Le Mans championships for drivers, manufacturers and teams. Entering Watkins Glen, Corvette Racing drivers Tommy Milner and Oliver Gavin – in the No. 4 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R – lead the Driver’s Championship on the strength of victories in the Rolex 24 At Daytona and the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring to open the season.

Those two – like the Sahlen’s Six Hours – are rounds of the Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup. Gavin and Milner lead the GTLM standings as well in that competition, which is a four-race championship consisting of Daytona, Sebring, Watkins Glen and Road Atlanta’s Petit Le Mans.

Chevrolet leads the full GTLM Manufacturer’s Championship, as does the No. 4 Corvette Racing entry in the Team standings.

In the No. 3 Corvette C7.R, teammates Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen are past winners at the Sahlen’s Six Hours. They won the 2014 event in Corvette Racing’s first appearance at Watkins Glen and are coming off a seventh-place class finish at the 24 Hours of Le Mans alongside Ricky Taylor.

Garcia and Magnussen have been in contention at every GTLM race this season and were second to the No. 4 Corvette at Daytona in the event’s closest finish in history. As a result they are third in Endurance Cup points heading to The Glen.

The 2016-spec Corvette C7.R is an updated racecar due to changes in Automobile Club de l’Ouest regulations for top-level GT cars that compete in the IMSA GTLM class. There are a number of aerodynamic changes including a larger splitter at the front and diffuser at the rear of the Corvette. Side skirts and a repositioned wing also are among the most notable changes, along with updated safety features that are now mandated on all GTLM cars.

The powertrain on the Corvette C7.R is unchanged from 2015 with a 5.5-liter V-8 Chevrolet small block powering the race car. The Corvette C7.R will use E20 fuel during the IMSA season.

The Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen is scheduled for 10:10 a.m. ET on Sunday, July 3. It will air live on FOX Sports 1 starting at 10 a.m. ET 1 with audio coverage from IMSA Radio is available on IMSA.com.

Corvette Racing Display on Location at Watkins Glen

The Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen will feature a very heavy presence of both Chevrolet and the Corvette brand. On the race track, the Corvette Daytona Prototypes and Corvette C7.Rs for GTLM will be joined by a Corvette Z06 production vehicle, which will serve as the weekend’s pace car.

In addition, the Corvette Racing display will be on-site and features a number of attractions and products for any Chevrolet fan. Must-see items include:

• Exciting, top-of-the-line Chevrolet vehicles including the new 2017 Corvette Grand Sport and the Chevrolet Camaro – the 2016 Motor Trend Car of the Year

• Additional Chevrolet vehicles including Silverado 2500 Duramax Diesel, Colorado Z71, Malibu, Cruze, and Equinox

• A Corvette C7.R show car and Corvette Z06 production chassis

• Samples of Chevrolet engines, performance parts and accessories available to fans for purchase from their local Chevrolet dealer

• A variety of Chevrolet and racing related activities for adults and kids

• Commemorative t-shirts for fans who sign up with Corvette Racing.

The Corvette Racing display opens at 9 a.m., Friday, and 8 a.m. Saturday and Sunday.

CORVETTE RACING QUOTES

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SIRIUS-XM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R: “It is a short turnaround from Le Mans but we have the best team to get our cars ready. Watkins Glen ranks high on the list of favorite tracks for just about all drivers. It has speed and a lot of heritage. Jan and I were fortunate to win there together before in the Six Hours; we’re hopeful that another will jumpstart our season. Our Corvette has been quick all season in the WeatherTech Championship. We need one complete race with good execution and we’ll be in great position.”

JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SIRIUS-XM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R: “I’m looking forward to going back to Watkins Glen. It’s been repaved and from what I hear it’s even faster. That’s the most appealing things to me about Watkins Glen. It’s similar to CTMP where it’s an old-school fast racetrack. It’s a fantastic feeling driving around. Watkins Glen is super-enjoyable and absolutely one of my favorites. It’s a real driver’s circuit.”

OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SIRIUS-XM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R: “Our focus now shifts back to the WeatherTech Championship and holding our championship lead. Watkins Glen has always been one of my favorites. I’ve heard they’ve done an amazing job with the resurfacing there. It’s going to make the track super-fast, which is always great fun. So we’re looking forward to getting back in North America, continuing with the championship and seeing what the next few races bring us.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SIRIUS-XM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R: “When I was growing up, the three tracks I remember were Daytona, Sebring and Watkins Glen. It’s one of the ones where I haven’t won. We’ve had great run so far this year with our Corvette in the endurance events with the wins at Daytona and Sebring. So we are in a good position. It’s super-fun to drive and really quick. I’m excited to get there and see what the track is like with the new surface. We have a championship to be concerned about, so a win would be great. Le Mans is always such a big draw, and a lot of energy and effort goes into that. But now that it’s over, all the focus goes back to the U.S., and our main job there.”

DOUG FEHAN, CORVETTE RACING PROGRAM MANAGER: “The effort of everyone at Corvette Racing to return from Le Mans and have both our Corvette C7.Rs prepared and ready for Watkins Glen shouldn’t be overlooked. That is just another example of how this program responds to challenges - we meet them head-on. We’re all looking forward to returning to The Glen, which should be even quicker with the all-new surface. We have had some success at Watkins Glen in the past, and our endurance record speaks for itself. We’ll be ready!”

2016 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship – GTLM Standings (After four of 10 events)

Corvette Racing at Watkins Glen

CORVETTE RACING AT LE MANS: Garcia, Magnussen, Taylor Complete 24 Hours

Trouble-free run for No. 63 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R at French endurance classic

LE MANS, France (June 19, 2016) – A total team effort from Corvette Racing resulted in one of its Chevrolet Corvette C7.R race cars completing the 24 Hours of Le Mans today – the 17^th time America’s premier GT team has tackled the famed French endurance race.

The No. 63 Konica Minolta/Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R of Antonio Garcia, Jan Magnussen and Ricky Taylor finished seventh in the GTE Pro class after starting 14^th in the category and last on the grid. The trio ran a steady, clean race with none of the major mistakes that claimed many of the other runners in the class.

Corvette Racing was going for its ninth class victory at Le Mans and sixth consecutive endurance Triple Crown victory – having won the last two years in the Rolex 24 At Daytona and Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, in addition to last year’s Le Mans.

Taylor took the checkered flag in the No. 63 Corvette to cap his first Le Mans with Corvette Racing. It capped a determined effort which saw the trio climb into the top-10 for good prior to the halfway mark. The opening 52 minutes were run behind the safety car, owning to heavy rains which soaked an already saturated circuit.

Corvette Racing’s No. 64 Konica Minolta/Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R was forced to retire following a crash in the race’s 17th hour Sunday morning. Tommy Milner, driving with Oliver Gavin and Jordan Taylor, suffered a hard impact when his Corvette went hard into the outside wall prior to the first turn during heavy braking.

But thanks to state-of-the-art construction and safety features of the racing Corvette, Milner got out of the car under his own power and returned to the team garage shortly thereafter. He, Gavin and Taylor were the defending GTE Pro winners from 2015 and had been running as high as fifth on Sunday before the accident.

Corvette Racing returns to competition in two weeks at Watkins Glen International for the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen as part of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The race is set for 10 a.m. ET on Sunday, July 3.

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 63 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R: “Basically we had a good car in a perfect race. We didn’t put a foot wrong and all we did for 24 hours is change tires, brakes and drivers, and put fuel in. We gave it our 100 percent but in the end we couldn’t go any faster.”

JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 63 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R: “The car was good, the team was good and didn’t make any mistakes. We’ll now have to go back and learn from this and come back stronger next year.”

RICKY TAYLOR, NO. 63 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R: “For me, to be a part of Corvette Racing was such an honor. During the last stint, I was thinking about how lucky I am to be part of this team and to finish this race for the first time with Corvette Racing. A day in Le Mans with a Corvette is a sweet day. Hopefully I’ll be back with the team next year and we’ll make up for this one.”

OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 64 KONICA MINOLTA/MOBIL 1/SIRIUS-XM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – RETIRED AFTER ACCIDENT: “We had made it through the night and were making good progress. Through the night, we were seeing that we were as competitive as we had been all race. The circuit definitely was coming to our Corvette. We were going to need to make a couple of changes just to get it through to the end in order for it to be really, really good. This place is so unforgiving; it’s so fast in so many spots. What happened to Tommy going into Turn 1 could have happened to any of the three of us. It was a very tough break for Tommy. He had just come out of the pits and was pushing very hard to make progress. Coming into the turn, the car had been very edgy for me and started to step away but I was able to catch it. But it just snapped too much on Tommy. The impact into the wall was big. I’m just so pleased he was able to get out unaided and walk away unharmed. It shows the strength of the C7 Corvette and the base chassis we get from Bowling Green, Kentucky. It also highlights the hard work and research and development that Corvette Racing does to keep the drivers safe. It’s something that is number one on the list for everyone here.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 64 KONICA MINOLTA/MOBIL 1/SIRIUS-XM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – RETIRED AFTER ACCIDENT: “First and foremost, I’m happy to be in a Corvette. This Corvette Racing team and the group at Chevrolet build the safest cars. We’ve seen some big wrecks here over the years and all our drivers have walked away fine. So I feel fortunate in that regard. I’m pretty disappointed that our race has ended the way it has. You never want to be in the car when something like that happens. We had just made some setup changes to try and get some more speed out of the car. It was just driver error. I should have done a better job of keeping the car under control but couldn’t do it today. I’m just disappointed for my teammates and the crew guys for having our race end like this. You always want to finish the race no matter what. So it’s definitely disappointing.”

JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 64 KONICA MINOLTA/MOBIL 1/SIRIUS-XM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R – RETIRED AFTER ACCIDENT: “It’s just racing. Le Mans is a tough event. A lot can happen, and it usually does. We were running our own race and our pace. That’s really all we could do and what we could focus on. Olly and Tommy were doing great jobs and setting super-fast laps for our Corvette. Everyone was pushing, and that’s what you have to do around here for all 24 hours. Sometimes it’ll bite you but we’ll be back next year stronger.”

DOUG FEHAN, CORVETTE RACING PROGRAM MANAGER: “When you come to Le Mans as many times as we have – this was our 17th consecutive appearance – you see nearly every imaginable emotion throughout the race. Despite some performance challenges, we fought as hard as we could and with all the passion we had. Although the result wasn’t what we wanted, we were proud again to represent Chevrolet and all of Corvette Nation at the greatest race in the world. Honesty, integrity, respect and sportsmanship are our foundational pillars. And I can guarantee you that we will be back in the U.S fighting for our Championship there!”